Quick \Quick\, a. [Compar. Quicker; superl. Quickest.]

[As. cwic, cwicu, cwucu, cucu, living; akin to OS. quik, D. kwik, OHG. quec, chec, G. keck bold, lively, Icel. kvikr living, Goth. qius, Lith. q[=y]vas, Russ. zhivoi, L. vivus living, vivere to live, Gr. bi`os life, Skr. j[=i]va living, j[=i]v to live. Cf. Biography, Vivid, Quitch grass, Whitlow.]

1. Alive; living; animate; -- opposed to dead or inanimate.

Not fully quyke, ne fully dead they were. --Chaucer.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. --2 Tim. iv. 1.

Man is no star, but a quick coal Of mortal fire. -- Herbert.

Note: In this sense the word is nearly obsolete, except in some compounds, or in particular phrases.

2. Characterized by life or liveliness; animated; sprightly; agile; brisk; ready. `` A quick wit.'' --Shak.

3. Speedy; hasty; swift; not slow; as, be quick.

Oft he her his charge of quick return Repeated. --Milton.

4. Impatient; passionate; hasty; eager; eager; sharp; unceremonious; as, a quick temper.

The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified that he was much offended. -- Latimer.

5. Fresh; bracing; sharp; keen.

The air is quick there, And it pierces and sharpens the stomach. -- Shak.

6. Sensitive; perceptive in a high degree; ready; as, a quick ear. ``To have an open ear, a quick eye.'' --Shak.

They say that women are so quick. --Tennyson.

7. Pregnant; with child. --Shak.

Quick grass. (Bot.) See Quitch grass.

Quick match. See under Match.

Quick vein (Mining), a vein of ore which is productive, not barren.

Quick vinegar, vinegar made by allowing a weak solution of alcohol to trickle slowly over shavings or other porous material.

Quick water, quicksilver water.

Quick with child, pregnant with a living child.

Syn: Speedy; expeditious; swift; rapid; hasty; prompt; ready; active; brisk; nimble; fleet; alert; agile; lively; sprightly.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)